ask; and not be led astray by the humanlogic of men detached from God who donot take into account the cross or "impos-sible" things. Praying is letting God act; notpraying is condemning ourselves to beinghelpless - and peace cannot make progressin the world.

This goes for our groups too, where we

may be deceiving ourselves with prettywords. Let us not forget that Jesus said: Forevery unfounded word men utter they willanswer on Judgement day (Mt 12:36); and:you don’t have what you want because youdon’t pray properly for it (cf. Jm 3:13-4:4).You multiply the words, but not yourcharity: you do not pray with your heart, inyour prayer you do not encounter God, youdo not accept His will with an open heart.

As for our personal prayer, we can’t

make up excuses like: I haven’t time! Withregards to time, we can testify that afterprayer our time seems to be multiplied,allowing us to do lots of things, becauseGod guides us! It is only through prayerthat we can testify that God is God; that weare able to subject ourselves to Him, andHe, mysteriously, will subject Himself to usand give us His Spirit and His authority;through prayer we lose our every fear andour testimony will be efficacious.

Mind, there is no other way. This is the

only way where you can be happy tocollaborate with God in His great plan andbe able to donate peace and joy to theothers, and God will give you what youask: Ask and you will receive, so that yourjoy may be complete (Jn 16:24).

Fr. Angelo

Christmas message: 25 Dec. 1993:Dear children, Today I rejoice with

little Jesus. My desire is that the joy ofJesus may enter every heart. My dearlittle children, I give you this message,and like my Son Jesus, I give you myblessing, so that peace may reign in everyheart.

I love you my little children, and what

I ask of you all is that you come closer tome through prayer. You talk and talk,but you do not pray. So my littlechildren, decide for prayer. It is only thisway that you can be happy and God willgive you what you want of Him. Thankyou for having responded to my call.

There is no peace

without prayer.

You talk and talk,

but you do not pray!

Our Lady seems to echo the words the

Angel said to the shepherds: I bring younews of great joy, a joy to be shared by thewhole people (Lk 2:10). Her desire is thatour joy be not just human, but that Jesus’own joy enter every heart.

The joy that comes from Jesus is in

always saying yes to the Father’s will. Maryhas always possessed this joy and She wantsus to possess it too, not just at Christmas,even if "this time" is a stimulus and anextraordinary grace so that we may be bornagain into a child-like joy.

The essence of the message remains the

same two things She proposed in the begin-ning: prayer and peace, cause and effect.Peace, of course is real peace that comesfrom God (of which joy is an expression)that holds up to every contrary wind. That iswhy She grants us, together with Jesus,Her blessing: that we may work and neverlose this peace. Our Lady is unable to hidefrom us that She loves us, calling us threetimes with endearing terms: like the ApostleJohn: little children! And She invites us tobe closer to Her through prayer.

The sad reality is this: you talk and

talk, but you do not pray. Make up yourminds to pray. Her lament reflects ouractual situation: rivers of words, meetings,debates and documents. Effective talkingcomes from profound conversion: listeningto God and awaiting His grace. Then it isHe Who talks through us and our words anddecisions bear fruit: without me you can donothing.

Jesus too listened to the Father; in the

morning when it was still dark he went offto lonely places, and though the Apostlespressured Him (everybody is looking foryou), he went elsewhere, where no doubtthe Father was calling Him.

Let us learn to say like Samuel: Hear I

am Lord. Speak, your servant is listening -so we can understand what we need to do or

Like Mary, Pope asks

Church to pray and fast

for peace!

Dear children, Today, as never before, I

am inviting you to pray. May your lifebecome fullness of prayer. (25 Nov.'92)

Over these years Our Lady has taught us

all about Christian life, starting from prayer.She has never stopped showing us how thereal work of a Christian is faith nourishedand strengthened by prayer. Her voice overthese 12 years has been a lone voice, thatwe have often not wanted to listen to. That’snot counting that in many environments,including the Church, some say: "prayer,but not only;" "prayer’s OK, but you’ve gotto be professionals;" "now is time to act, notpray;" and many other similar expressions.

The enemies of Medjugorje hide behind

a shadow: the apparitions have not yet beenapproved. The pressing and insistent call,however, to arm ourselves with prayer inthese times comes also from a voice thatdoes not need approval: that of the Pope.

Those who remain in Jesus bear fruit

In the Holy Father’s CATECHESIS at

the General Audience of 1 Dec.’93, he gavethe following explanation on spiritual life ofthe laity: "All Christian spirituality must bebased on what Jesus said about the need fora vital union with him: Remain in me ...whoever remains in me and I in him willbear much fruit (Jn 15:5). The distinctionbetween the two aspects of the union towhich the text refers is significant. Firstthere is the presence of Christ in us, whichwe should welcome, recognize, andincreasingly desire, and happy are we if weare sometimes able to experience it withparticular intensity. Then there is our.presence in Christ, which we are invited toachieve through our faith and love.

This union with Christ is a gift of the

Holy Spirit, who instils it in the soul. Thesoul accepts it and complies, both incontemplation of the divine mysteries and inthe apostolate, which seeks to communicateits light in both personal and social action.

Since it is a gift of the Holy Spirit,

union with Christ must be asked for inprayer. Doubtless, when work is performedaccording to God’s will, something pleasingto the Lord is being done, and this is a formof prayer. Thus even the simplest actionsbecome an offering that gives praise to God.But it is equally true that this is not enough.Specific moments must be expresslydevoted to prayer, following the exampleof Jesus, who even in the midst of the mostintense messianic activity withdrew to pray.

This is true for everyone, and thus, for

lay people too. These "pauses" for prayercan take many different forms, but in eachcase the principle is that prayer isindispensable for everyone, in bothpersonal life and the apostolate."

109

Satan is strong and awaits each one of

you to try you. Pray, so he cannot harmyou! (25 Sept. 1987)

The more we observe the Pope the more

we see the intimacy that exists betweenMary and Her consecrated son. He is amodel for us all. In Medj. we learnt that wehave to defend ourselves from Satan andprotect the spiritual gifts with spiritualweapons. The Pope too tells us this.

In his famous HOMILY on 31 Dec. '93,

John Paul II commented on this battle withthe words of St John: "Now manyantichrists have appeared. Thus we knowthis is the last hour." The Apostle recallsthat the world "is under the power of theevil one" (1 Jn). It is good for this evil onepresent in the world to be called by name.

Christ, who allowed himself to be

tempted by the spirit of darkness, taught usto say: "deliver us from evil." We cannotclose our eyes to what is about us. Wecannot fail to see that Christ and his Gospelare and remain a "sign of contradiction."We cannot fail to notice that, together withthe civilization of love, of truth and life,another civilization is spreading: this isprecisely what St John is speaking of in thecontext of the "last hour." The Apostlewrites: "Many antichrists have appeared."And he adds: "They went out from us, butthey were not really of our number." (1 Jn2)

The Pope points out that this civilization

of the antichrist can be opposed with theinner power donated to us by Christ in thefrequent use of the Sacraments and prayer.

Prayer joined to sacrifice constitutes the

most powerful force in human history

We cannot forget that besides these

enlightened appeals by the Pope, there arealso his continuous interventions toawaken Christians so they may collaboratewith the restoration of peace in the Balkans,particularly by prayer. For this specificpurpose he dedicated the 23rd January '94to a day of prayer, preceded by a day offast on Friday 21st, adding that these arethe only means that can obtain a solution toall conflicts. Where else is it that we hearthat only prayer and fasts can stop wars (25April 1992) if not in Medjugorje?

He couldn’t have been clearer in his

speech during the GENERAL AUDIENCE(12 Jan.'94). John Paul II surprised all forthe subject and the gravity of his voice.With regards to the real possibility ofstopping the war he said:"The most power-ful humanitarian intervention is alwaysprayer. Prayer represents an enormousspiritual power, especially when accomp-anied by sacrifice and suffering.

Even if it is not apparent to a superficial

glance, and many people do not acknow-ledge it, prayer joined to sacrificeconstitutes the most powerful force inhuman history. As St Paul says, it is like"heaping burning coals on the head" ofthose who commit crimes and injustices; itis like the "two-edged sword, piercing tothe division of soul and spirit... anddiscerning the thoughts and intentions ofthe heart" (Heb 4:12). Prayer is also aweapon for the powerless and for thoseexperiencing injustice. It is the weapon ofthat spiritual battle which the Churchfights in the world: she has no others at herdisposal. Prayer must really unite us allbefore God, the just and merciful Father."

Peace is possible because nothing is

impossible to God

The Pope’s teachings of late have been

concentrated on the message regarding theLord’s mercy. The absolute necessity forevery man to re-encounter the love of theFather was already stressed by John Paul IIin his encyclical: Dives in Misericordia.Over these last years, this appeal for man totrust in His mercy has become more urgent,and culminated in the beatification of Sr.Faustina Kowalska, who was called byChrist to a vast apostolate of mercy."Sr.Faustina was aware of the importanceof the message entrusted to her by Christ,but she could not have known how rapidly itwould have spread throughout the world.All mankind needs this message of God'smercy. Today’s world needs it, especiallythe war-torn lands of the Balkans. Themessage of God’s mercy is a forceful call toa more lively trust: "Jesus, I trust you!"

It is difficult to find more eloquent words

than those left to us by Sr. Faustina. Jesus,I trust you! This is the hope which hasguided us over the past days, confirmingour awareness that peace in the Balkans ispossible. With God nothing is impossible!Conversion is possible, and it can turn hateinto love and war into peace. So our prayerbecomes all the more insistent andtrusting: Jesus, I trust you!"

Editorial Staff

Quite a few of you wrote to suggest

various initiatives for prayer and fasts. Weoffer them to the Father who sees in thesecret of your hearts and will give you yourjust reward.

Italy: Pope makes appeal

for great prayer

to defeat spirit of division

In a special letter to the Italian bishops

the Pope spoke out about the responsibilityof Catholics in our society. He stressed howthe duty of the Italian people is to conservetheir precious heritage: the legacy ofhuman and Christian values - i.e faith,culture and unity.

The presence of Christians in society is

necessary for a profound social and politicalrenewal ... "The Italian society has to beprofoundly renewed, purifying itself ofcorporatist tendencies, separatist threats andmutual suspicion, and look with confidenceto its future; for this it is necessary that allbelievers be mobilized through commonprayer ... As we approach the year 2000,the whole Church needs great prayer." Letus ask for this grace from the Holy Spirit,Who alone can create this communionamong men.

These indications given by the Vicar of

Christ to the Italian people strike out atthat spirit of division and disgregationwhich is so dominating in our country atthe moment. It is scandalous to think thatCatholics divide themselves into "bands,"and that the more intellectual of themformulate theories of unity and communionnot being necessary, or having beensurpassed. The Catholic conception saysthat political and social activities cannot beseparated from our Christian faith; but arerather a consequence of it. Satanic spiritis one of division.

We are forgetting, and it took the Pope »

Merciful Jesus

The dead come back to life

these days too!

Easter Monday - After lunch my

husband René complained of a suddenstomachache. He lay down for a while butthe pains got worse: his chest hurt, his armsbecame stiff and he began retching. I calledthe doctor who was quick at diagnosingangina pectoris.

He was admitted to intensive care in a

deep coma and they connected him up tomachines. That night all the diagrams on themachines were flat. The next morning Iasked the head physician if there were anychanges. He said none, that they would keephim connected a while longer, thendisconnect everything, for there wasnothing else they could do. My son Marceland one of René’s brothers wished to seehim for the last time.

As far as me, I remained alone in a small

room and with all my heart I cried out forhelp: "Sr. Faustina, intercede! Sr. Faustina,intercede before Merciful Jesus for René!"Suddenly, I felt a light breeze around me.Was it a sign? Could God have listened tome? Marcel and my brother-in-law cameback and said: "René is dead, he’s all puffedup, and purple, and cold." René had gone,just the machines were keeping himartificially alive.

On the way home we cried. My

daughter Marylise didn’t want to accept thetruth. Her father couldn’t have left her likethat, she thought, and she prayed and daredto hope still.

At 4 p.m. that Tuesday (13 April 1993),

I called the hospital again. The person onthe other end recognized me. Her voice waswavering: "We’ve just disconnected all themachines. Your husband has just finishedresponding positively to the three infallibletests: if you can hear me, bat your eyelids;and he did. If you can hear me, stick yourtongue out; and he did. If you can hear me,close your fist; and he did. Your husband isalive and you can come and see him..."

Surprised and happy we cried out with

joy: A miracle! ... Merciful Jesus heard ourprayer and He gave us this great gift in theweek dedicated to His Divine Mercy. Renéwas born again.

There were no neurological

consequences, no paralyses, everythingfunctioned perfectly. A new heart, thedoctor later said. I bless the Lord every dayfor this immense grace that He granted usthrough the intercession of Sr. Faustina.

I hope with all my heart that this will

help with the cause for her canonization."

Mme A. Menjoz (from Stella Maris)

Cecilj from New Delhi rejoices for hernephew who awoke from a coma after 2months. Cecilj's prayer group had beenfervently reciting the chaplet of the DivineMercy for him and after some days he cameout of the coma. They too give thanks to Sr.Faustina for her intercession.

and Our Lady to remind us, that there isonly one solution to our problems: If God iswith you, you have everything .

Editorial Staff

«First of all, we need silence. Fruit of

silence is prayer. Fruit of prayer is faith.Fruit of faith is love. Fruit of love is serviceand fruit of service is peace.»

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

THE FALL

of false gods that enslave us

So we may return to the true God

Examine your consciences: did you

come here to ask or give something to theLord - to be healed, consoled, to receivelight, or to offer Him your problems?

This is what Fr. Tomislavasked the

many people gathered in a small countrychurch last November. They came, not fortheories or vague solutions, but to hear thefruit of live experience with God whichtouches people’s hearts, and allows them todiscover what is needed to find peace.

«What is dominant in your hearts at the

moment? During my travels over these lastdays I came across many worried, tense andunsatisfied people. Some spoke to me abouttheir problems (family or sickness) - Icould sense their uneasiness. In the paperswe read of fear and uncertainty regardingthe future of the country. It comes down tothis: in people’s hearts, which mirror whatis happening in society, the Church and theworld, I saw much worry. Let us considerwhat is happening and which is the roadthat will lead us to a beautiful, light future.

In today’s world, people are very

unsatisfied and confused - unable to livewith others. We have separation in thefamilies, divergence in political parties,division even in the Church, prayer groups,in congregations and among the consecrat-ed, and aggression and hate in the world.

What does Our Lady say about this? For

some time She has been announcing thatthese times are the times of God and ofSatan, times in which the action of grace isevident, but just as clear is the action of thedevil. All this must happen, though, so thatwhat is false can fall. In fact, a new worldcannot be born, the Church cannot berenewed, unless the false and corrupt valuesfirst fall.

If we want to follow Our Lady we need

to see clearly what is happening and walkalong the road that leads to Jesus with joyand exultation. Why is there so muchconfusion and dissatisfaction? There is onlyone answer: the spirit of man has becomedetached from the Spirit of God. Man thinkshe can live alone, but he is unsatisfiedbecause he is without his fount of happi-ness. Dissatisfaction leads to confusion,because people don’t know how to findhappiness. Confusion leads to finding faultin the others, and this leads to aggression,hate, division. Why division? Becausemen’s spirits, detached from the Spirit ofGod, gather in groups, in parties, in closedcircles, that are disconnected on a humanlevel, with no way out. This is not theChurch that was united under God’s Spirit.

All the problems you see within and

around yourselves have their roots in thisdetachment from God and in the attachmentto false gods (wealth, power, beauty) thatencourage [the growth of] one’s ego.

Why are the men of today unhappy? A

man with 4 houses is unhappy because hecan’t afford another one. Another isunhappy because he earns $10 less than hisneighbour.... People are unhappy becausethey adore material things and look formaterial things in other people (who canoffer me more?). And he thinks he can findhis salvation in this.

Everything that does not lean on God,

the only true God, must fall; even the fall ofauthority had to come; and a total fall willcome, because it doesn’t lean on God.

Authority detached from God falls. That’sthe reason for this crisis. And after all thiswe go back to adoring other gods!

In this society people always look out

for someone to blame, but that doesn’t buildour future. Even in situations of frustration,Satan drives you to blaming yourselves,your wives/husbands, your children, topunishing yourselves and others. This isadoring a god in us that can’t do anything,that can’t resolve problems, so that as we fixon a black point within us, with no hope,only feelings of bitterness and desperationgrow. And this is Satan’s spirit, for Jesusalways saves and justifies.

I would like for each one of us to

eliminate this false god, for it is here that wefind that concentration of negative tension,so contrary to the Gospel, that destroys us.Let us heed Our Lady’s voice: surrenderourselves totally to our Saviour and betruly free! Let us start adoring the true Godwhen trouble arises, be truly surrendered toHim in difficult situations.

There are crises because there’s got to

be; so the true values in the Church and theworld can be rediscovered and experienced.Adoring God during times of trial makes usable to wait with hearts full of hope, certainof God’s intervention. Our politicians can’tsave us. God saves .. be sure of that! Godsaves the whole world! He saves you evenwhen you’re not aware of it. God savesfrom within, but we must send away allthose false idols we have constructed. Thatis what Our Lady wants when She invites usto convert, urging us to offer sacrifices:which teach us to hope.

Now is the time when we need to adore

God from deep within ourselves, becausebeyond all the troubles, difficulties andconfusion, God is the one who holdstogether the strings of our life. That is whyit is so important we accept the poverty ofevery day: lack of success, troubles andtrials. In these times those who do notaccept it become aggressive towards othersand themselves and begin hating. So acceptevery type of poverty, and look for God init. This is the road to purification.

To the members of my community who

undergo hard trials, I often say: you couldgo walking around the streets with a walk-man like the others and not suffer thesetrials. It’s only when you’re face to facewith God or when you’re forced to reflect,that the negative things surface; and theyhave to surface for you to be purified.Society too, and the Church, mustexperience these trials to be transformed.

For you, though, who listen to the

Blessed Virgin and accept Her invitation toconversion, you have to understand! Bepoor, accept poverty willingly, and you’llbe happy! Neither wealth nor poverty areimportant; what is important is to have God.With Him you find happiness andsatisfaction, even if you’re broke. You willbe united to God’s Spirit; He will give youneither wealth nor power, but He will giveyou true life. And there’s no man on earththat can give you this! This has always beenOur Lady’s invitation: come close to God,put God first ...

We cannot, though, have this grace

without poverty. Which poverty do wemean? Well, your daughter is ill and you areworried. Surrender your worry to God andtell Him: "Lord, I am poor. I did not haveher, but You gave her to me. She is Yours. Ientrust her to You," or "Lord, I have ahouse, and money ... but if You see that formy salvation it’s better to be without, then

take them!" This is the way that will openyour heart to God and to His grace.

Discover wealth in your everyday

situation - when you lack something, whenyou can’t see how to resolve a problem -discover the wealth of God, search for it! Idon’t say to you: start walking barefoot, butI do tell you: start walking with God. I don’tsay: don’t worry about your health, but dolook for God in your illness, and removefrom your life those things that divide youfrom Him. This way you will be trulyhappy!

Our present times tell us about "future

times" that will be bad and good: bad forthose who walk detached from God’s Spirit,good for those who walk united to God’sSpirit. Men can be united to one another,but without God they cannot support oneanother. Like devils who live united under ahead who uses force: they hate one another.Men can be united in groups even withoutGod, but these will fall. You, though, mustbe united to one another in God, withoutinterests. Be like Jesus: it is when you loseeverything that you are united to the Father.

I shall conclude now with the reply to

my initial question. We are not used togoing to Church to encounter Jesus andgive ourselves to Him, and this is tragic.Only through giving yourselves totally toJesus can you find fulfilment and satis-faction. The amount you give yourself toJesus determines how united to Him youcan be. Start from the little negative things:Jesus is looking for you and wants yoursins, your worries, your crosses ... he wantseverything! He is asking for your real love.

Start giving everything to the Lord and

you will be changed. Like Jesus gaveHimself to the Father, so each of us shouldgive ourselves to God. Truly, what wereceive from a person depends on howmuch we give ourselves to that person,because love by nature is communicating. Ibeseech you! From now on go to Jesus andgive Him all, and He will give you all thatyou need. Give without asking, for youcannot receive without first having givenall.

What do we celebrate at Holy Mass?

Jesus Who gives Himself to us and we whogive ourselves totally to Him. This donationof love makes perfect union; then bitternessand hate will no longer grow in you, butonly light, serenity and satisfaction.

This is what I wanted to give you; but

you can experience it only if you seriouslydecide to put it into practice. I tell you thisbecause I meet many people who pray,many of whom are consecrated, yet they areunhappy and irritable. Decide to live unitedto the Spirit of God and donate it to thewhole country!

Donate God’s Spirit to this society. All

your country needs is the Spirit of God.»

«Lord, make me an

instrument of Thy peace!»

This was the theme of a meeting guided

by Fr. Tomislav in Jan. ’94. There weremore than 1,000 people, and despite thenumbers and the presence of children, allwent smoothly. Only Our Lady could get tothe hearts of each person in such a largecrowd.

Fr. Tomislav spoke of the necessity of

an UNCONDITIONAL aperture of heart tothe love of the Father. The Father wants us- refugees on the earth - to be His children.He wants us to let Him love us and fill oursouls with His caresses.

» page 8

Franic: NEW

EVANGELIZATION

conforming to the spirit of the

messages of Medjugorje

Recognizing what is positive in other

faiths. Consideration of other cultures toevangelize them in reciprocal love

Q. The messages of Medj. are deeply

religious. They conform to the Gospel:speaking of conversion, penance, prayerand invite to peace. What do you think?

A. The messages, valid for the whole

world, are an outline for the newevangelization of Europe and the world. Inparticular, they speak of reciprocal respectand love among peoples, religions, culturesand political systems, in reciprocalcollaboration between faiths and peoples.

Q. Would you like to say something

more about the spirituality of Medjugorjefrom this point of view?

A. In the past, evangelization was

mostly an argument against the errors of thefaith and adversary cultures. The differ-ences were used to beat the others withmore ease. Now, quite the opposite is thenew evangelization which looks for thepositive values of each faith and culture,even in the polytheistic religions with alltheir myths, and in modern atheism. Thisnew evangelization, however, could berisky for our faithful if they are notsufficiently instructed in their own faith.

That is why some opposed Vatican

Council II which was the first to impose thisnew type of evangelization, and harshlycondemned those who put it into practice byshowing love towards peoples fromdifferent faiths and towards atheists. Thelove they were showing was the one thatasks us to love others as we do ourselves,but without identifying with the others intheir faith and ideologies.

Even John Paul II received criticism for

the fast and pilgrimage he did in Assisi withthe Orthodox, Protestants, Buddhists, Shin-toists... But it means learning about otherfaiths and cultures to be able to show theGospel of Jesus Christ in a more friendlymanner, allowing God to do the rest.

Penetrating the culture and faith of

other peoples, however, demands betterreligious instruction and greater personalholiness. This is the way the new evangel-ization is moving, and this is also themessage of Medj: reconciliation, forgive-ness and love for all, so that every religionand every culture may be evangelized moreefficiently.

Q. Who should carry out this evangel-

ization?

A. Not just the clergy, like in the past,

but all those who have been baptized arecalled by God to help. The work of the laitycan no longer be defined as a participationin the hierarchic aposto-late, but rather, aco-operation in the Christian redemption ofthe world; because through our baptism weall received from Christ the right and dutyto participate in His redemptive work. Thatis what the Council teaches us; and thisdemands obedience to the Pope, the bishopsand priests, who in turn cannot deny thelaity the right to take part in the triplepower: prophetic, priestly and regal power.

The Medj. messages promote the

modern apostolate of the laity, for we mustkeep in mind that they are spread throughthe laity, and that Our Lady gives them forall men, not just for the religious. (...)

bishops in Zara (10 April ’91) is very graveif it explicitly rejects the supernaturalcharacter of the apparitions. Our bishops arethe ones who are responsible for thisdeclaration, not their theologians. None-theless, it can be seen from their declarationthat the last word has not yet been saidabout Medj.

Q. Have these attitudes discouraged

people in any way from going to Medj.?

A. I am convinced that if our bishops

had supported Medj. great crowds of peoplewould have gone and been converted. Andto conversion Our Lady associated peace... Ithink our bishops have depended too muchon our professors of theology from thevarious schools and on the commissions,which for the most part were made up ofthese professors. Theology must berational, but not exclusively so.

Private revelations and mystics have

always been present in the Church andalways will be, as a second vital elementnext to rational theology. But it’s as if theHoly Spirit has not yet entered ourpastoral programmes. This is a reason forwhich our bishops have not publiclyconfirmed or recommended the present-daymovements for a renewal in the Church, somost of the parish priests do not have thecourage to introduce these into their pastoralplans; let alone promote pilgrimages toMedj.!

Everyone knows that I do not think the

same way as the Bishopric of Mostar. I havebeen and I remain contrary. (...)

(Taken from Glas Mira, Dec. ’93)

Queen of Peace donates radio of truth

to American Church

In a meeting organized last Autumn by a

Medj. prayer group (with pilgrims, faithfuland representatives of the Church ofChicago), the Auxiliary Bishop of the cityof Jaworski threw light on how grave thishistoric moment is for the Church in theUSA.

There were 5,000 people praying

together, but there were no film crews orjournalists as these were more interested inthe incriminations made against priests orwith the war in Somalia or Bosnia.

Those present showed profound concern

for the injustices and the lack of objectivityin news transmissions, so they favourablyaccepted the Medj. Association’s proposalto buy a powerful radio station for theArchdiocese so that the Word of God couldreach and heal the many wounds caused byso much scandal.

Medjugorje Vocations - During that

same meeting a young nun spoke about herexperience with Medj. and her subsequentdecision to become a nun. Medj. vocationsare frequent in groups in the US.

NEWS FROM MEDJUGORJE

Only Mary is left in Medjugorje

Going to Medj. on pilgrimage during the

Christmas period (1-4Jan.)and finding verylittle but UN military vehicles, small trucksbelonging to EEC observers and Caritasvans is disconcerting. Medj. shows signs ofthe war too. To say all is tranquil like in thebeginning is not true There may not be anydanger; and the road from Split is safe, butone can’t forget that a civil war is going onin that country, where friends of yesterdayare now killing one another.

You can't say it’s like before. The

bungalow village has become the barracksfor the UN contingent. It’s surrounded bybarbed wire and has control towers fittedout with machine guns on each side. Morethan half the shops and restaurants haveclosed down. In the evening you can’t goout because of the curfew, which meansbeing able to climb Krizevac and Podbrdoonly during the day.

You don’t see many people around. The

grounds outside the church, once themeeting place for pilgrims, are deserted fora good part of the day.

People have started returning, but it

can’t be compared to the crowds of 3 or 4years ago. Every now and again a distantthud can be heard in the direction of Mostar.You can’t pretend and think that Medj. isback to normal.

Then again, all this does not change the

fact that Medj. is the only place in the worldwhere Our Lady lived for 12 years andcontinues to do so, even corporally. This isthe essence of Medjugorje We’ve said itmany times, but now it has become moreevident, as the works of men, here inMedjugorje, have all fallen.

There is just nothing to do or see in

Medj., except "meet" Our Lady. The parishof course tries to organize things for thepilgrims, but the value of Medj. is some-thing else; it comes from the Spirit whichMary obtains because of Her presence there.Its true value is in the messages. If it hasbeen saved from destruction it’s onlybecause Mary, in Her mysterious goodness,wanted to save that village.

Everything depends on Our Lady and

how we listen to Her. The greatest disasterfor us would be to put Mary on the sameplane as things or people.

Medj. is and remains a unique place in

the world. It is the heart of our spiritualrenewal, of the renewal of the Church andof humanity. We have done nothing todeserve this, the greatest gift the Church hasever received: 12 years of daily apparitionsby the Virgin Mary. We could, though, godown in history as the generation of thegreat refusal, of those who opposed OurLady. This is our responsibility!

From the message of 28 Jan. 1987:In whichever place I go, and my Son is

with me, Satan also reaches me. Withoutrealizing it, you have permitted him to getthe better of you, to dominate you. At timesyou understand that some of your gesturesare not permitted by God, but you quicklysuffocate these feelings. Do not give in, mychildren! Wipe away the tears that I shedas I watch you.

Edit. Staff

"Model of true communion"

Satan’s triple assault

DON’T KILL THE LIFE

born again in Medjugorje

What is Medjugorje? It is the irruption

of heaven into the world, through thepresence of the Mother of God on amountain. Mary comes because men don’tknow how to meet Christ anymore. That iswhy Medj. has become such a bright light,for it is the power of the Spirit Who isbreaking up all the negativity on the earth,the way He unhinged the rusty gates of ourhearts. We have also had the grace to seesigns, for our faith to be confirmed.

From that moment our lives started

anew, we began breathing, our heartsopened to the sound of this announcement,and in turn they became little Medjugorjes.Our Lady’s every word is echoed in yourhearts because it is tuned in with the newperson in you and with the life of the Spirityou received in your baptism.

This life was buried in us, but here in

Medj. we received the grace of conversion.We, who were full of the life of the flesh,rediscovered our life in the Spirit. That lifeof the flesh was thrown over, and we workat keeping our spiritual life above the rest;because this is true life, that not even deathcan destroy. In fact, it is death that bringsour spiritual life to fulfilment in thepresence of God in eternal life.

This rebirth does not suffice on its own,

however. Now that you are committed tototal dedication of this Mystery, you mustnourish your spiritual life! Now beware, forSatan is ready to grab onto your new lifethrough spiritual illnesses. One of these isthe temptation to become masters of yourspiritual life. The gift you received is thusblocked.

Many are those reborn into life who

have not respected the rhythms of this life,for it requires silence, prayer anddetachment from the world. It is notpossible to correct one’s failings without thepower of the Holy Spirit. To receive thispower one must dedicate time to God.

Satan also attacks us with the temp-

tation of arrogance. For instance: OurLady has revealed Herself to you, so youstart judging because you think you’rebetter than others. A gift is worth nothingunless there is a spiritual battle every day.Without serious commitment to removefrom your heart what is unpleasing to God,everything is blocked. More again, you endup being cause for scandal!

More than anything, though, Satan

attacks communion; and he has done thishere in Medj. We perceive that this is aplace of grace, but we live in a time whichnecessitates much vigilance on our part ofOur Lady’s messages. Her corporalpresence in the world continues to generatethe spirit of communion. Satan, though,wants to work against this communion,particularly here at its fount.

Here, in some environments of Medj.,

Satan has attacked and destroyed the visiblesigns of communion. He attacked the heartof the Mystery which the Spirit ofcommunion had generated. The devilalways rejoices at division. He knows that ahouse divided against itself cannot stand(Mk 3). This work of division has markedall the signs of communion: amongparishioners, the fathers, the visionaries, thegroup of young people and the variousprayer groups; wherever Satan provokes

suspicion and incomprehension.

In spite of this, Mary continues to carry

forth the spirit of communion; but She ismet with resistance. There is no longer aschool of communion in Medj. with visiblesigns for us to follow.

We have received great gifts over these

years. There is a task that Our Lady wantsto entrust to you; do not fear, for there is noother Mother as attentive and loving as Her,because She is the Immaculate Mother.

These times need these new people, who

in the darkest moments are testimonies whobring light, who humbly accept and transmitGod’s light, because they humbly placethemselves at Mary’s disposition to learnfrom Her.

[Medjugorje, 2 Jan. 1994]

(from a meditation by Fr. Giacomo)

Protect God’s gifts

* Well-known theologian, Von

Balthasar, who has never had doubts aboutthe authenticity of Medj., said in aninterview in 1983: «(...) I have only onething to say: you need to be careful [to see]what really comes from God and whatcomes from men. What is happening inMedj. is from God. The children arereliable, but I repeat that it’s dangerous tohound them with interviews andquestions (without realizing it we have putthem on pedestals, ed. note)... You [ofEcho] wrote that faith is more importantthan a vision. The children need a lot ofsupport. If they can understand that faith isgreater than a vision, they will be saved.»

Through our little instrument we have

always tried to help the visionaries protectthe great gift that they have received. Wecan’t deny that they are often used to ensuresuccess. We have always maintained thatsilence and spiritual guidance is what bestprotects these gifts, permitting visionaries tomeditate and grow in holiness and thus betrue testimonies of the words theypronounce. Others have no right to usethem for themselves.

Pilgrims too must learn to turn to God

and His Word which we find in the churchif they want to grow spiritually. It’s false tothink that out-of-the-ordinary experiences,or listening to or knowing special peoplecan help you grow.

It’s pleasing to hear that Marija

Pavlovic says the same things. A. Bonifaciosent us a report of her participation in ameeting for Italians on 1 Jan.’94. She spokeabout: prayer groups at risk when theychase after sensational events; going fromone extraordinary manifestation to anotherand not nourishing a true and unitaryspirituality; fanaticism by Medj. followerscausing rejection of Medj. by many priests;the risk of becoming attached to people(monks/visionaries) which stops us fromseeing that God is and must be central, andthat the normal way He chose for us is theChurch, the Sacraments and the Pope. * *

News from the Blessed Land

(from Sr. Emmanuel’s diary)

* Signs from heaven still present in

Medj. I’ve noticed that the Virgin oftenchooses unbelievers and children for thesigns. Nonetheless, it was an Irish priest lastNovember who received a special sign.

He decided to make the Stations of the

Cross. He was alone. At the 12th station heprayed before the Crucified Christ, and allof a sudden Jesus came to life. His face wasswollen by the blows and He was bleeding.Jesus’ head swayed like a person in pain.His eyes, full of love and unfathomablesadness, met those of the priest.

The priest was shocked, thinking for a

moment that he was going mad, but helooked again and met Jesus’ eyes...

Trembling with all his being, he

descended the mountain and joined hisfriends. They no longer recognized theirpriest, so great was the sweetness in hiseyes. They prayed together and he blessedthem. "Jesus’ wounds are intolerable," hetold them as he shared his extraordinaryexperience. "The look on Jesus’ face isimplanted in my heart, like a seal in wax."

* 1994 - third year of war. Many

pilgrims had the chance to visit refugeecamps during the Christmas season. Theyreceived much from witnessing the nobilityand humility of the refugees in suchdramatic situations.

700 refugees from Vares, for instance,

told of how they escaped and then wereheld up in lorries for a month because theMuslims would not let them pass. In thecold, with hardly anything but water, manydidn’t make it.

It was with them that the pilgrims

learned how to pray for peace and how tocry like Mary for the reconciliation of Herchildren.

* "In Mostar," one man told me, "you

can hear the cries of men being tortured onthe other side of the Neretva."

Refugees now comprise half the village

which is overflowing with children - theMedj. of tomorrow. Another young Medj.man has died: Mario Bulic; while JozoZovko was badly wounded in the legs.

* Family news: This January Fr. Slavko

left for Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao andcommunist China. Ivan will meet him in thePhilippines, after a series of meetings inGermany and the USA.

Vicka was recently in Belgium. Ivanka

and Mirjana are both expecting and shouldgive birth early this year. Marija is alsoexpecting. Marijana Vasilj, who receivesinner locutions, married Mario Juricic. »

* Fra Stanko Vasilj recently passed

away. He had been ill for some time. Hewas the author of the Medj. hymn that weall know, and was the organ player in Medj.in the early years.

DISARM THE AGRESSOR!

Pope condemns nationalism

Unlike Europe, John Paul II is not

undecided with regards to the war in theBalkans. On 15 Jan. 1994 he spoke to theDiplomatic Corps about how "the barbar-ous and unjustifiable war which is stainingBosnia-Herzegovina in blood, afterdevasting Croatia, has considerably erodedthe goodwill which Europe used to enjoy."

The main victims of the war, the Pope

recalled, are "innocent civilians in the handsof torturers without morals." The HolyFather is asking the fighting parties to putdown their weapons, because: "what istaken or destroyed by force will never dohonour to a man or to the cause he claimsto uphold."

The Pope expressed his admiration for

the work being done by the humanitarianorganizations; he asked the Europeanpolitical leaders to redouble their efforts,and the peoples of Europe: "...not to forget,through weariness or selfishness, yourbrothers and sisters trapped in conflictswhich have been imposed on them by theirleaders." The Pope's firm conviction is agreat sign of hope for us: "war is notinevitable; peace is possible! ... becauseman has a conscience and a heart.. becauseGod loves each one of us, just as we are, soas to transform and make us grow."

A warning for Christian Europe: If the

international community cannot come to anagreement on how to deal with this problemof nationalist claims, it is foreseeable thatwhole continents will be as to say poisonedand there will be a progressive return torelationships based on force, in which thefirst to suffer will be the people themselves.

Europe, blind and powerless -

Archbishop of Paris, J.M.Lustiger, cele-brated Christmas in Sarajevo. He said howthe war in Bosnia is not a war betweenpeoples, but: "an army which, in the nameof criminal cynicism, has besieged a nationand its people ... Europe is sick with itspowerlessness, its cowardice, its blindness.

It doesn’t want to understand how great

the risk is. The war in Bosnia concerns allof us; it’s like an illness that could destroyall of Europe from within. If we don’t knowhow to react to the idea that every singleperson, ethnic group or army can take whatit wants, then democracy is finsihed."

becomes like the Far West. Attentionthough, because we might save our ownlives, but not those of our children andgrandchildren. Once the Nationalist-Communist disease starts spreading, itwon’t take long for Rome or Paris to beinfected as well."

To conclude, the Pope calls this sickness

of Europe a new paganism, which is thedeification of the nation, and the rejectionof others because they are different.

Litmanovà, Mary speaks from

the heart of Europe

In Slovakia, near the borders with

Poland and Russia, there is a new Medju-gorje. 700 metres up Mount Zvir, it can bereached only by a path. It was there in atimber hut in a clearing in the wood thatOur Lady appeared as the ImmaculatePureness on. Her birthday, 5 Aug. 1990.The name itself is an eloquent reminder ofthat forgotten Christian ideal.

Our Lady has been speaking for 3 years

to 16 year-old Ivetka on the first Sunday ofevery month. Ivetka was so timid that shespoke to no one, and now she is thevisionary who must speak for Mary. Shegives the messages to the parish priest whoin turn tells the people. Ivetka’s friend,Katka, can see but not hear Our Lady.

Great crowds start climbing up the

mountain the day before. They sleep in theopen and prepare themselves throughprayer for the Mass which is also celebratedin the open. This year on the anniversarymore than 100,000 pilgrims were present.Last Autumn a friend brought us a cassetteto see (the 3 hours of celebration). The greatnumber of men, women and youth, thepoverty and simplicity of these mountainfolk and the earnestness of their prayer,brought tears to our eyes. As penance, manyclimb the mountain barefoot, even in winter.It made us think of the poverty of thecrowds in Medj. in the early years.

One cannot, however, go the

Immaculate Pureness unless in a state ofgrace, so many confess before they beginthe climb, others in the wood prior to Mass.The young Brazilian priest, Fr. PolykarpJacos, is a true apostle and helper of OurLady, having accepted the messages with allhis heart.

He has launched a programme of

spiritual renewal in his parish: Holy Mass,Rosary, fast on Wednesdays and Fridays,confession and meditation of the messageduring the month, "to pray according toMary’s intentions:" You don’t know howmuch I need your prayers and fasts for theconversion of my errant children. Pleasehelp me! (3 July ’93)

The Immaculate Pureness wants to give

a great impulse to the moral renewal of thepeople. If this renewal does not proceedpeople’s values will be deformed in theirhearts, which would be worse than a war.

On November 7, 1993 the visionaries

received the apparition in the bishop’schapel in Presov where they had beeninvited by the Commission. As Our Ladyappeared, there were 20,000 pilgrimsgathered together in the square outside.

The message was:

»

massacred by a bomb in Mostar. That’s aclear reply to the stand taken by the Pope!

The three conflicting parties have been

unable to reach an agreement, despite theendless negotiations. The UN are undecidedbetween trying for a political solution (asthey have so far fruitlessly done) or amilitary intervention where they wouldbomb the Serb postings around Sarajevo.The UN forces are also having problemswith rotating their contingents and areunable to get aid in because of the roadblocks. According to the former com-mander, Belgian general Briquemont, theUNO should use force to be useful.

In the meantime, a big offensive in

central Bosnia is being prepared by theMuslims, whose forces have beenstrengthened by thousands of mujaheddins(guerrillas from Arabia, Iran, Pakistan). TheCroatian army, at the moment not officiallyat war, is preparing to defend the borders ofthe territory they have managed to keepfrom what will probably be the bloodiestblaze since the beginning of the war. Theobjective is to eliminate the Christianpresence in Bosnia, like the Archbishop ofSarajevo has already said.

«Brothers and sisters of Bosnia,

we will not abandon you!»

During the Holy Mass for peace

celebrated on 23 January in St Peter’s, theHoly Father spoke out in dramatic tonesand expressed his deep sorrow for the warfought especially in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"The focus of our prayer in the Week of

Prayer for Chistian Unity is an entreaty, anentreay for peace," he said. "One could saythat we, the pilgrim Church, are making apilgrimage on our knees, to enter thosetortured Balkan lands. May our sufferingbrothers and sisters know that we will notabandon them." To them he cried out: "Weare with you and we will be with you, wewill always be with you! With the help ofGod, peace must be victorious."

The Pope pleaded with all people of

good will to pray: "This superior powermust be used more and more.(...) To all wesay: brothers and sisters, are we not alsoresponsible for these divisions?"

Who would have thought that after the

fall of the Berlin Wall, nationalism wouldhave erected new walls to divide Europeand single nations? (...) The war in theBalkans has damaged the stable under-standing between nations and has harmedthe peaceful coexistence of religions.

Considering the absence of some

communities (Waldenses, Lutherans andOrthodox) who had been invited to StPeter’s for the day of prayer he said: "If welack unity, how can the world believe? Thismust make us think, the Pope first of all."

Pope lit peace lamp at end of Mass:

Until peace returns to the Balkans and allhostilities have ceased, a lamp will remainlighted in front of the image of Our Lady ofSuccour.

* Mary’s presence protects from war:

in Burundi as in Medj.

From the hell in Burundi Fr. Blasi writes

(Dec.’93): "Here we are experiencing thegreat battle between Satan and the Motherof God. We have noticed that whereverthere is a sign of Her, that place has beenvisibly protected.

Giheta, where [an image of] Our Lady

cried, was saved from destruction. The »

city of Gitega, where I built a Marianshrine, was also left intact. Likewise withmy parish (Ruzo) where the Blessed Virginis lovingly venerated by the Christiancommunity. On the other hand, in Mumuriwhere they had removed a statue of OurLady, Mediatrix of Burundi, there was amassacre.

One of my catechists said: "Only when

both tribes, the Hutu and the Tutsi, will seetheir sin and plead to the Lord for help, canwe have peace."

To all our friends I say: "Your help will

be efficacious if you are in God’s grace,through confession, Communion and pray-ing with a clean soul. We await the end ofthe apocalypse in the serenity of prayer." *

Bosnia: children slaughtered

UN forces powerless

New episodes of violence during the

three days of prayer and fasts proclaimed bythe Pope: on Saturday 22nd Jan. in Sarajevo6 children were killed by shelling as theyplayed with a toboggan on the icy streets.The day after 4 other children were

one else. Even though everyone else wasable to use it, he never thought: "Why canthe others use it and not me?" Everything hedid, he did with joy.

That’s how he passed his time in the

monastery, being obedient till his death,never having once done his own will, orhaving ever attached his heart to anythingbut God. Five years after his arrival, whenhe became seriously ill, he knew that boiledeggs were good for people who spat blood(he had TB), and was tormented by thedesire of eating them, so he begged histeacher never to give him any. So Doroteonever gave him eggs to eat. Dositeo foughtagainst his own will even while so seriouslyill.

His thoughts were always in God.

Doroteo had taught him to repeat often:Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner; or:Lord help me. When Doroteo would ask ifhis prayer life was going well, Dositeowould reply positively and ask his teacherto pray for him. As his sickness got worse,his reply would be: "Yes, father, thanks toyour prayers." One day, however, hereplied: "Father, forgive me, for I have nomore strength." So Doroteo told him not toworry about the prayers, but only to thinkabout God Who was before him.

When the end was near Dositeo asked

the Great Elder: "Let me take my leave, for Ican bear no more!" The Elder replied: "Myson, be patient, God’s mercy is near athand." Then for a second time Dositeoasked for the Elder’s permission to leave.The Elder replied: "Go in peace, remainbefore the Holy Trinity and intercede forus." Dositeo obeyed.

The words of the Elder irritated the

other brothers who said: "What did he dofor the Elder to say such a thing?" The truthwas that they had never noticed Dositeowhen he fasted every second day, whichwas customary for some in the monastery,nor when he kept vigil prior to the nightprayer. They had never seen him doanything in particular, but they didremember seeing him drink some of thebroth for the sick or eat a left-over fishhead at times. They never knew that Dositeohad never done anything out of his ownwill, that he had been perfectly obedient.

One day, not long after the death of

Dositeo, an old visiting monk asked God togrant him the grace of seeing the saints thathad died in that monastery. In the visiongranted by God all those saints weretogether, and in the middle of them was aboy. When the monk described the boy inthe vision to the brothers, they realized itwas Dositeo and they gave thanks to God.

They marvelled at the fact that Dositeo

had reached such great heights despite thelife he led before and the brevity of his lifein the monastery, and they saw howobedience and the desire to break one’s ownwill is pleasing to God.

(Reduced from Abba Doroteo di Gaza)

My dear children, I love you and I am

happy to be here with you... The King ofLove would like for you during this time tomeditate upon His great sufferances.Through them He wants to bring your soulsback to life... Reflect more upon the wordsof your Mother.

On the 5th December there were 10,000

pilgrims on the mountain which wascovered in snow and ice. Let yourselves befreed by Jesus. Do not allow the enemy torob you of your freedom, for which so muchPrecious Blood was poured out. A free soulis the soul of a child. I would be very happyif during this month you could try very hardto become like children. I am with you tohelp you receive the Bread of eternal life.

As can be expected, the apparitions are

not accepted by all, but the parish priestinvites the Slovaks to take a lesson fromformer Yugoslavia, and take Mary’s wordsseriously. In Her last message She said:

Turn back to a life of prayer. Why are

you so blind before so much love by God?You fill yourselves with false loves thatcome from this world and you throw awaythe true Love. My dear children, I beg you,try to use the Blessed Sacrament moreprofoundly, pray more profoundly. I praywith you. I pray for your inner peace. (9Jan. 1994)

The declaration of the Greco-

Catholic Bishop of Presov, Jàn Hirka,seems quite open: "We have been askedmore and more frequently to express ouropinion on the events of Litmanovà where itis said the Virgin appears. The Lord Jesusand the Mother of God at times useindividuals to appear to them in anextraordinary way so as to call attention tosacred truths and duties that have beenforgotten, or to keep punishments at bay.God benefits us greatly by such, and ourattitude should be one of gratitude andopenness.

It is true that some cases are deceiving...

some are even satanic traps. That is why theChurch is prudent with regards toapparitions; to avoid also that ones we arenot sure of are not promoted. So, eachperson must act according to one’sconscience and knowledge.

Where the apparitions are true, though,

the Saviour Himself or the Mother of Godtake care to preserve the genuineness inthem. An initial critical attitude on the partof the authorities will also help the truth tobe certified. St Augustine tells us: ”Thedoubts of Thomas were of more help to usthan the faith of the other apostles. It wasbecause of his doubts that Jesus gave usthose words so helpful in strengthening thefaith of the weak.”

(The document is not dated, however, it

was being circulated on the anniversary inAugust 1993.)

Fr.A./M.D.

A Saint for Lent

Young Dositeo: hero of fasts

and self-denial

With the help of God, Abba Doroteo, a

truly blessed man, embraced solitary lifeand went to live in the monastery of FatherSeridos in Gaza where he was edified by theexamples of Barsanufe and Father John.The Elders asked him to build and be incharge of an infirmary.

Year 530. One day Father Seridos

summoned him and asked him to take careof a boy in military attire who had just »

arrived. The boy had been the page of ageneral and so was used to luxury and a lifeof dissipation. He had never heard the Wordof God either. It was when some fellowworkers had described the city of Jerusalemto him that he desired seeing it. He receivedpermission to leave and visit the Holy City.

In Gethsemane, he was fascinated by a

painting of hell. A majestic looking womanbegan explaining the meaning of thepainting and the reasons why those peoplewere in hell. The young man asked: "Mylady, what must one do to avoid suchpunishment?" She replied: "Fast, do not eatmeat, pray continuously and you will besaved." Then she disappeared.

From that moment on, Dositeo (for this

was his name) repented and startingfaithfully observing the three commands ofthe mysterious woman. The soldiers in theservice of the general noticed his oddbehaviour and suggested he would be betteroff in a monastery. Dositeo knew nothingabout God, nor did he know what amonastery was, but since he dearly wantedto observe the woman’s suggestions, hefollowed his friends to Father Seridos.

Blessed Doroteo carefully examined

him then. All the boy could say was, "I wantto be saved." So, in obedience to the GreatElder, Doroteo happily took the boy towork for him in the infirmary, and he knewthat under his guidance, he would be saved.When it was time to eat, Doroteo told him:"Eat till you feel satiated, but let me knowhow much you ate." Dositeo advised: "I ateone [loaf of] bread and one half of another."Doroteo told him: "Then eat one and aquarter. Divide the other quarter in halves,eat one half and leave the other." Dositeodid just that.

Some days later he asked the young man

if he was well or if he was hungry. "No,father," he replied, "thanks to your prayers,I feel fine." "So leave both halves of thequarter."

In this way, and with the help of God,

Dositeo gradually went from eating 6 lbs to6 ozs of bread per day.

He was an able and attentive worker,

and everyone was happy with him. Whenhe happened to be a little careless, orbecame angry with a sick person, he wouldrun off to his cell and weep. The otherbrothers would try to console him but invain. So Doroteo would go to him, andDositeo would say: "Forgive me father, butI got angry at my brother." "So you gotangry at your brother did you? Do you notfeel shame? Don’t you know he is Christ?"Dositeo would lower his eyes and cry, andwhen Doroteo saw that he had cried enoughhe would tell him: "God has forgiven you.Get up and start again. Let us try our best tobe more attentive and God will help us."

As soon as he heard these words

Dositeo would shake his sadness off andjoyfully return to work, certain of havingreceived God’s forgiveness.

Doroteo was careful not to let the boy

become attached to anything, so thatDositeo was able to accept everything withjoy and even go without if that was asked ofhim. Once it happened that he was given abeautiful knife. He took it to show histeacher, hoping that it could be kept in theinfirmary for their use. Doroteo asked if hepreferred to be the slave of a knife or aservant of God. Doroteo then told him toput it down and never touch it again.Dositeo was so obedient that he never didtouch it again, not even to pass it to some-

* Echo in Palestine - Sister Rita from

Bethlehem writes: "Thank you ever somuch for the copies of Echo we receiveregularly. I give them to my Palestinianfriends (one of these translates Echo intoArabic) and to our nuns from Bulgaria whoanxiously await news of Our Lady’s calls toconversion. We shall offer our Holy Mass atChristmas in front of the Grotto for yourintentions. Please also pray for the return ofpeace to these lands." (17 Dec. ’93)

ren. I love you. But you must not forget,my little children, that without prayeryou cannot be close to me.

In this time Satan is trying to create

disorder in your hearts and your families.Do not give in to him, my dear littlechildren. You must not permit him to bethe director of yourselves and your lives.

I love you and intercede for you

before God. PRAY, my little children!Thank you for having responded to mycall.

Trust my love

stay close to me through prayer

I want to defend you from Satan

Mary presents Herself to us on this day

as the Mother of all men; She loves us alldearly. The trouble is that we do not acceptHer as our mother and we do not love oneanother as brothers because we do notconsider ourselves as being children of thesame Father - our one and only God -generated at the foot of Jesus’ cross by sucha great and real Mother.

In theory, all Christians believe Jesus is

the Son of God, but very few decide tobecome real disciples of Jesus. Likewisewith Mary, all so-called Christians concep-tually believe She is the Mother, and theyinvoke Her with that name, but very fewaccept Her as their Mother; i.e. they do nothave a filial relationship with Her, they donot let themselves be nourished by Herlove, they do not entrust themselves to Herloving care.

There are many Catholics who are not

happy about our present Pope being so openabout his devotion to Mary; or they aredisturbed by the visits of the Virgin Mary toHer children in the various places andvarious ways, and by the signs of Herpresence among us.

The refusal or the non-acceptance of

Mary already favours the action of Satan inus and among us. Sin and the Evil Onecannot be defeated without Mary. TheQueen of Peace in Medj. is reminding us ofthis once again. We are blind and foolish ifwe cannot see the confusion and thedisorder that Satan is creating in thesetimes in our hearts, in our families, in ourcommunities and in our society.

The enemy is coming out into the open.

It seems that he wants to conquer every-thing and everyone, in particular the massmedia, to spread sin, discord, indifferenceand derision of everything that is sacred.You must not let him, Mary says to Herchildren. Resist him, steadfast in faith, StPeter tells us (1 Pt 5:9).

Mary wants to be our Mother. She wants

us to experience how much She loves us,how dearly She loves us, to guide andprotect us. It is time we stopped being rebel,errant children, so indifferent to Herpresence and Her calls.

Let us declare ourselves Her children

and accept Her as Mother and Queen of ourhearts, and our families. Let us cultivate,with profound and continuous prayer, a realrelationship of filial love with Her. Let ussay to Her today and everyday: «Mater meaet fiducia mea! [My Mother and my trust]In Thee I rest, to rest in God.» Fr. Remo

French member of parliament: conse-crate France to Mary’s Immac. Heart

Cristina Boutin is the president of a

group called «Franco-Croat Friendship,»consisting of members of parliament, and ofanother called «Pro Bosnia.» She says:"Despite my political commitments, I hadwanted to participate in the pilgrimage onthe anniversary and in the peace march as aform of personal penance, to receive light toknow what I could do to help."

After Mass, she spoke to the pilgrims:

"For some time I have wanted France, thefirst child of the Church, to be consecratedto the hearts of Jesus and Mary. The Lordasked for this more than 300 years ago. Iwas moved when I saw pilgrims carrying abanner with the 2 Hearts. I said to myself:we must give back to the Church and toFrance what we lost so long ago. Weconsecrated ourselves here; the beginningof France’s consecration has begun."

* The Rosary Way in New Zealand -

Ted Downs from Wanganui (N.Z.) said hegot the idea from the Carmelites inAylesford, Kent. "I took the idea back toNZ, got some nice pictures of the RosaryMysteries blown up to A3 size, and lamin-ated. A carpenter friend made the weather-proof wooden frames and the poles we fixthem to. We (St Mary’s Pro-Life RosaryGroup) did our first Rosary procession forOur Lady's intention for the protection ofthe unborn child. It wasn’t long after that afriend - a nurse at the local hospital - cameto tell me that the doctor doing abortionshad told her and the rest of the nursing staffthat he could no longer handle abortions.For us this was a great answer to ourprayers. We have been abortion free inWanganui ever since. (...)"

* 10,000 people in concert hall for day

of prayer - Milan, Nov. '93: one of thetemples dedicated to rock music was for aday turned into one of the biggest churchesin Italy. The day of prayer, singing andadoration was offered to God for oursuffering brothers in former Yugoslavia.

March 25, 1994 marks the 10th anniversaryof the consecration (of the world) to Mary'sImm. Heart. Plan to participate in a globalconsecration on that date. A suggested wayis to start a 33-day preparation, beginning20 Feb.

SOLIDARITY

Hospitals in Mostar and SplitIn December two mobile respirators

for ambulances, and medicinals weredelivered to the hospital of Mostar.

From the hospital in Split, Bonifacio

reports: "Here, where the most seriouslyinjured are sent, Croatian, Muslim and Serbdoctors and nurses work side by side inperfect harmony. «There’s no place forpolitics in here,» they told us. Where thepoliticians can’t get in with their perversemass media to inculcate division and hate, itis still possible to live together peacefully.

The Bosnian bishops are right when

they say they are contrary to dividingBosnia territorially and politically. This isone of the main causes for the heighteningof tension in this war."

February and not early January as youwere probably expecting, because of myhealth problems. An unexpected heart attackkept me in hospital for 13 days beforeChristmas; but the fast you were forced topractise and the subsequent enquiries,showed us how much Echo is appreciated,and we saw how Echo is considered foodprepared by the Blessed Mother for Herchildren. As for me, Our Lady forced amuch-needed rest on me. That way, I wasable to live the feast of Christmas far morespiritually, without the disturbance of Echo.

I thank the many readers who have

supported us over this period with theirdonations. They are often very generousand this permits us to publish Echo in thevarious translations, and support thepublication of the editions in the East.

A special thanks goes to our French-

language readers. Besides covering thecosts of the 29,000 copies of Echo, theyalso donated nearly 5 million lire for Bosniaover the 2 month period. Thank you also toour German-language readers in Switz-erland for their generosity. Apart from thedonations handed over to the variousdrivers of aid deliveries, we gave 13 millionlire to the fathers of Medj. at new year. Wehave also finished paying the 25,000 DMfor the printer for the Marian House inMoscow. A very nice copy of Echo inCyrillic characters is now being produced.

The continuation of Echo depends on

my health, for I can no longer face up to thedouble work of parish and bulletin. Thatmeans we need someone to either take careof publishing Echo, or a permanent assistantfor the parish, at least for the youth. I.entrust these intentions to your prayersin the certainty that Our Lady willrespond.

As we walk ahead together, with our

eyes turned to the victorious ImmaculateConception and the chair of St Peter, Iinvoke upon you the blessing of GodAlmighty. May His love and peace abide inyou, may He guide your steps, and confirmyour hearts, now and for ever. Amen.

»from page 3 Oh, may it be that we let ourhearts rest in God! All forms of tensionwould disappear, because He would work inus and through us. We would become Hisinstruments of peace, and take His peacewhere there is hate, where there is war.

The humbleness in Mary’s Immaculate

Heart is our compass, our guide. It is ahumbleness we can reach through beingobedient and subject to Christ’s MysticalBride: the Church and her ministers,through whom Christ continues to operate.

We are not alone in this journey. The

divine Spirit, Who loves us despite ourerrors, walks before us, so that for all Hischildren every valley may be filled in, everymountain and hill be laid low .